Battle Between East And West Plays Out In Serbia; Vucic Says Yes To Cheap Russian Gas

Meeting with Prime Minister of Serbia Aleksandar Vucic in MoscowImage by Kremlin.ru

The Balkan nation of Serbia, long a Russian ally, is playing the role of battle ground between East and West. The leader of Serbia is cementing ties with Moscow after long being rebuffed by the European Union over the issue of the recognition of Kosovo. The ethnic-Albanian republic broke away from Serbia during the late 1990s; NATO participated in the defeat of the Serbian military during the conflict, to the chagrin of Moscow.

“I will not pay double for liquefied gas to please someone in the West. I will buy cheap gas so that people can live and industry can develop. Those are not my money, those are people’s money, state money,” declared Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic, reported Russian state news agency TASS.

Russian president Vladimir Putin flies to Belgrade this month and will sign multiple economic agreements. “The main thing for us is to reach an agreement with Russians. We want that, and we will do it,” the Serbian leader noted, added TASS. The two presidents are expected to discuss the implementation of joint projects in energy, infrastructure and innovation technologies. Russian Deputy Prime Minister Yury Borisov said that the sides may also sign an agreement on the construction of a nuclear center in Serbia.

L. Todd Wood, a graduate of the U.S. Air Force Academy, flew special operations helicopters supporting SEAL Team 6, Delta Force and others. After leaving the military, he pursued his other passion, finance, spending 18 years on Wall Street trading emerging market debt, and later, writing. The first of his many thrillers is "Currency." Todd is a national security columnist for The Washington Times and has contributed to One American News, Fox Business, Newsmax TV, Moscow Times, the New York Post, National Review, the Jerusalem Post, Zero Hedge and others. He is also publisher of Creative Destruction Media and editor-in-chief of Tsarizm.com. For more information about L. Todd Wood, visit LToddWood.com.

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